The World Inside a Picture Frame
by Ed Black
Summary: Just days before their ten year reunion Yuna, Rikku and Paine reflect on what they gained and lost by creating the dress spheres.Ch1 RikkuGippal Ch2 PaineBaralai Ch3 YunaTidus Ch 4 all that and more.
1. Rain and Ruffles

Author's notes Thanks a bunch to yunikka24 she is the one that re lit my fanfiction fire and keeps my late night typing from making me look like a fool. This is the first in a series of connected stories about where the dress spheres came from. Remember reviews are nectar for the muses and rather good karma has well. Disclaimer: I don't own the ff x-2 people and if I did I would probably make them mime being a cow or something stupid like that.  
  
Rain and Ruffles  
  
It was well after midnight on the quiet bridge of the Lrulupu.[1] Rikku yawned and stood up stretching the kinks from her neck and back. She had no idea the repair work was going to take so long. The Lrulupu was the first airship to be made from scratch since Zanarkand was destroyed. It had been Gippal's pet project ever since he convinced Brother to let him take the Celsius for a joyride. He had pulled in a team of the best of the machine faction to work on it and they had been working for almost three years.  
  
Gippal had left Rikku in charge of whatever else the Machine Faction had left to do. Whether it be the Bikanel digs or research in Djose Temple, she made sure everything went smoothly. Besides being more responsible, not much had changed about Rikku since her days as a sphere hunter She still wore her thief dress sphere from time to time, liking the way it felt and liking the appreciative looks Gippal gave her. It was nice to know she could still turn heads.  
  
Finally the Lrulupu was finished and they all piled on board for it's maiden flight. It took off like a dream and seemed to slice through the wind. The flight from Djose to Bikanel and back was very close to perfect but landing was another thing entirely. First the onboard computer froze and then the manual landing gear deployment got stuck halfway down. Gippal was lucky he was able to pull off a belly landing in the woods. But still, there was a lot of damage that set them back again. Rikku took over and sent her on again/off again boyfriend to Luca with some of the guys from the Machine Faction to watch the opening week of blitzball while she handled control of the Machine Faction off to Nhadala and took on the job of repairing the Lrulupu.  
  
She had been at it almost continually for three days and it still wasn't done yet, but it was getting there. Rikku was hoping she could finish before Brother brought Gippal back on Sunday for the reunion. It would be one hell of an anniversary present. Maybe, if she really hauled arse, she could be the one to pick him up. It would definitely be worth the lost sleep to see the look on his face.  
  
Rikku slid back into the pilot's seat and watched the sky finally released the rain it had been promising all day. It pittered onto the cockpit and rolled off in sheets. She looked out in the direction Luca and wondered if Gippal's nights had been as sleepless as hers. Did he even know what he did to her? Like how he always seemed to catch her flustered and off guard with no effort at all. Or how he always knew what to say to make her turn into a little pile of goo. Not that she didn't return the favor from time to time, he was just too damn good at doing it to her. She sighed. They had been dating for so long and it looked like he was never going to get the guts to ask her to make it forever. Rikku had been very patient waiting for him but if all went well at the reunion it wouldn't be a problem any more. She smiled. He wouldn't know what hit him. How long ago had she figured out he was the one for her? Well, she was pretty sure it all started with a day on the beach. She had almost forgotten it. That is, until her father gave her a present that became her favorite outfit.  
  
It was dark and windy the day her mother died, and Rikku felt like the sun would never shine again. The last memory she had of her mother was mother kissing her and Brother on the forehead, telling them to do well at lessons. She was the most beautiful person Rikku had ever known and she was well loved all throughout Home. Even with all the work she had to do to keep things running, she always had time to help with homework or play games. Rikku wished that she could grow up and be just like her mother.  
  
Lessons were fun. She had just turned nine and she finally got to work on machina like the big kids. Halfway through a machina lab, a man she had never seen before ran in the door and pulled the teacher aside, whispering quickly into his ear. The change was sudden and strange. As soon as the man left, her teacher slumped over his desk and called Rikku to the front of class, sending her out into the hall to wait for Brother. It seemed like she waited their forever, squirming and wondering what kind of trouble she was in that they wanted Brother too. The moment Brother came into view she knew that this was worse than she could have imagined. He was crying and he never cried not even when a fiend stung him.  
  
Brother took her hand lead her back to their house refusing to answer her questions. He knocked on their own door like a stranger. Rikku started to get scared. They never went home in the middle of the day and they never knocked on their own door. Brother opened the door. It was dark inside and she could hear someone breathing hard. "Dad, were here," Brother called out. "Come on back. I have something to tell you." His voice sounded broken. Rikku let Brother pull her into the one room she wasn't supposed to go in, her parents' bedroom. Her father was sitting on the bed, his head was bandaged and it looked like he had been put through the wringer. Cid gave them a small sad smile and pulled both of them into his arms.  
  
It took many starts and stops but finally he got his voice to work. "There was a fiend attack today while we were working. It was a huge snakelike thing with two heads." He was staring beyond them now, watching the attack repeat itself. "I tried to get the others out but it was too strong. It penned me to the ground before I could react. Your mother screamed and opened fire on it, getting its attention and then the others dragged me to safety. She got caught in its path and there was nothing we could do to save her. Your mother is gone." He took a deep breath and slumped his shoulders. Rikku stood rigidly next to her brother. Her whole world had been taken from her and replaced with a black hole full of screams and cries of agony and anguish.  
  
The rest of the day was a blur of crying and soothing grownup voices. Rikku sat in her closet, knees drawn up to her chest. "She isn't gone. She can't be gone. We're going on vacation next week, she was going to teach me how to swim." Rikku smiled. That had to be it. Her mother had gone on ahead to the beach. Everything else was just a big misunderstanding. She snuck out of the house and crept silently through Home taking what she thought she would need. She was proud of herself for being such a good sneak. Soon, Rikku was walking through the sand in the direction she thought the beach was.  
  
Why was the beach so far away? It felt like she had been walking forever or maybe that was just a trick of the endless dunes. It was starting to get dark and the wind was starting to pick up, blowing sand in her face. Rikku made her hands into a shield and trudged up the largest dune she had ever seen. Rikku was so tired and she kept falling down but she almost thought she could hear someone calling out for her, so she went forward at a crawl. When she reached the top, she could see lights and hear water off in the distance and took one more step towards it. Her body finally gave up. She blacked out and tumbled down the dune.  
  
It was dark when she woke up and her head felt like it was going to split open. Rikku sat up and looked around. Where was she? This wasn't her room. In fact it looked like a tent. Someone placed a cool rag on her head and spoke softly to her. "Myo tufh oui ryt y naymmo pyt vymm."[2] It was a boy's voice and a shadow fell over her that looked a lot like Brother. The boy was kneeling beside her with a bowl of water, gently trying to get her to lay back down.  
  
It made her angry. She could take care of herself and she snapped at him, "I can't lay down. My mother is waiting for me at the beach. Everyone thinks she is dead, and I have to go see her and bring her back." Rikku said as her shoulders started shaking. He put his arms around her and wiped away tears she hadn't known were there. "I can take you there. Just let me tell my dad where I'm going. Will you stay here until I get back?" Rikku nodded as he walked out of the tent.  
  
A wave of machina noises she hadn't noticed before washed over her and light poured into the tent. She was blinded and by the time she could see again he was gone. She heard grown up voices talking and the name Gippal used a lot. She wondered if it was the boy's name. He came back and gathered up some things to take. "Who are you?" Rikku asked while he dug around in a trunk. "The name is Gippal. What's yours?" he said turning to look at her. "Rikku," she answered quietly. "Oh, so your Cid's girl. I am sorry. My dad told me what happened. Well, the beach is still a bit of a walk and there isn't much to see at night but if you're ready, we can go," he said helping her up. "Let's go," she said smiling.  
  
Gippal was right. It was a long way but it didn't seem so bad because she had someone to talk to. Rikku told him about everything she could think of: lessons, the prank wars with Brother, and quite a few things she never thought she would tell anyone. He just listened and added things from time to time. Before she knew it, they were at the beach. Even in the dark, the water was impressive. She could hear the waves roar and crash onto the beach. The sand was cold and wet under her toes. "The sun is going to be up soon. You can see it pretty well from up here," Gippal called from the top of a small dune. Rikku climbed up and sat beside him. They watched the pale glow on the horizon grow into dawn. Rikku shivered as a cool breeze come in with the tide. Gippal pulled a blanket from his pack and draped it around them.  
  
Rikku leaned sleepily into his shoulder. "I didn't find her but thank you anyway," she said. "Maybe you will next time." He smiled at her. Rikku reminded him a lot of himself after his younger brother had died. "Yeah," she said in a yawn. "Come on, let's get some sleep." He set his pack down as a pillow and they curled up together. They were asleep as soon as they lay down.  
  
That was how Cid found them a few hours later. Rikku was holding onto the boy like a teddy bear and looking very much like her mother. Crying a little, he pulled the comm unit out of his pocket and took some video sending it back to the commsphere at Home. The boy's parents came up to take him home but Cid waved them off and told them to let the kids sleep. He walked back to their camp to find something to eat and check on Brother. He took one last look back at his little girl and smiled. Maybe they could get through this after all.  
  
Rikku had almost forgotten that day at the beach. But one day, the boy who said he would be her friend forever, left for the Crimson Squad. She was so angry with him that she stormed off to her room and refused to say goodbye. After Gippal had gone, her father came in and gave her a sphere she had never seen before. He told her that if she watched it now she could catch him before the boat came. Rikku glared at him but did as he asked anyway.  
  
After watching it, she tore through Home and made it to the docks in record time. He was standing on the docks looking very much like she had in the sphere. Rikku walked up to him and whispered into his ear. "I never found her but I think she helped me find something just has good." Then she gave him his first real kiss. They parted as he got on the boat but she kept calling until he was just a speck on the horizon.  
  
Gippal walked in to find Rikku draped over a console asleep. He gathered her up in his arms and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You missed my lips," she mumbled wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Sorry," he said leaning in for another kiss. "That's better. What are you doing here?" she asked nuzzling up to him. "I couldn't sleep," Gippal said carrying her off towards their room at Djose. "Neither could I," she said closing her eyes. Gippal smiled down at the warm sleeping weight in his arms and walked on into the temple.  
  
Al Bhed Translations [1] Chocobo [2] Lay down you had a really bad fall. 


	2. Sunshine and Old Leather

Author's notes this is the second in the dress sphere series. I know it is rather odd to post the second one first but when I started on this I had no idea that it would become a series. Once I finished this one another popped in to my head. So it looks like all three girls will get their own stories and there will be a short chapter about the reunion. Thanks a bunch for bata yunikka24 and thanks a bunch for reviewing Komorli and Sweet Angel Taisha. Reviews are nectar for the muses and mine have been running on empty lately.  
  
Disclaimer I don't own the ff x-2 people and if I did I would probably make them like sing in a musical about ham or something stupid like that.  
  
Sunlight and Old Leather  
  
The scales clinked and sent rays of light bouncing around the hut. Paine smiled as she ran her fingers along the spaces between the plates. The leather felt as soft and slick as when it was new. She spread the warrior dress out on the bed and stood back looking down at it. Was it always so small? Where did she ever get the guts to wear that out in public? How long ago had it been since she had dragged this outfit out? Ten years, fifteen? She had lost track somewhere in the haze of hellos and goodbyes. She still remembered the first time she ever put it on. There was anger and fear and a strange kind of elation and they seemed to bubble out wherever the dress sphere touched her skin. Giving Shinra the moviesphere to make it was one of the things she regretted for a very long time. It was the only record she had kept of the two men that became her safety net and the one that kept stirring up confusing thoughts of something more.  
  
After that damn cave (the Den of Woe) had taken them away so easily, Paine had to sneak out with whatever she could. That is, before the screams died down and whatever was there stalking the other groups noticed her. And somehow, she had run straight to Shinra who was salvaging what he could from the disaster that was Operation Mi'ihen. They had an unspoken alliance, her and Shinra. He helped her avoid the Yevonites that seemed to want more than just to question her. And in turn, she kept the fiends from making pests of themselves.  
  
Paine smiled, time with Shinra had been good. It was her own personal calm for a while. He was a good kid, a bit eccentric but they watched each other's backs and didn't pry any deeper into things than small talk. That was how her life had always been. A series of temporary alliances that always seemed to shift into chaos after awhile. He was the one that started the wandering chaos up again. He talked about some strange parts he had found in the Bikanel Desert just a little while ago that could theoretically be used to make a flying machina. That little comment said after dinner one night was all it took to send her wandering off towards the desert again. Chasing dreams tended to make you do strange things like that. Paine left the kid all the gil she could spare and never thought she would see him again. But life is strange and fate is stranger still.  
  
Paine watched the Al Bhed's home explode from the outer edge of the battle. She never meant to end up anywhere near there but the fiends rushed too fast. There were screams and cries and soon she too was swept up in the battle. Gippal had talked about Home a few times when it was just the two of them. He said that if Operation Mi'ihen were actually successful he would take them all there for a drink. It was burning when she got in site of it and a warning siren wailed some gibberish that she didn't understand. 'So much for the drink,' she thought running closer to the action.  
  
Her skill with a blade kept the fiends at bay while she tried to figure out why things had gone to hell. Paine was barely able to penetrate the outer ring of attackers before she felt the earth shake under her feet. For the next few minutes she was rendered frozen. The airship was like nothing she had ever seen. A need to be up there struck her like a charging fiend to the gut. Paine didn't notice the second rumble and the fireball that came after caught her off guard. She was barely able to tuck and roll when the concussion wave hit her. Her whole body was filled with the smell of burning wreckage and a lot of dull aches raged through it. It seamed like the whole world was on fire things started going fuzzy after that but at some point she was sure she saw someone tall and familiar walking up to her.  
  
Paine woke up on a soft bed in a cool dark room. Shinra was sitting beside her tapping away on a panel that was dimly glowing blue. He glanced over at her. "You all right? You were asleep for a long time," he said looking her over. "Well I am not dead," Paine said sitting up. Shinra turned back to his screen. "They left without me," he said. "Me too," she said with a chuckle that turned in to a chest rattling cough. Paine hunched over and noticed the bandages that seemed to cover the lower half of her body. She was really banged up and felt like an idiot for getting that way. The kid just might have saved her life there and all because she had been distracted by something new. Shinra had managed to find a ship and drug her back to the little abandoned hut between Djose and the Moonflow that they had started fixing up.  
  
Paine healed too fast for her own liking and soon she really didn't have a reason to hang around. She just kept telling herself she would leave to go find the airship tomorrow. But tomorrow seemed to keep being pushed back into forever. Life with him was peaceful or as peaceful as things got in those days. They fell into a routine, Paine took odd jobs clearing fiends and Shinra was swept up into a new mania that seemed to be popping up all over Spira, finding spheres of the past. He reminded her of the kids she used to take care of in her village before she started training for the crusaders and Paine reminded him of his older sister who was lost in a sin attack a few years ago. She was asleep when the final calm came. Paine heard singing welling up from everywhere, and in her dreams she was flying in a ship with Gippal, Nooj, and Baralai beside her. Shinra told her later that she had been humming in her sleep and then she had started crying.  
  
After the calm, everything was different. People started noticing them when they went into town and the rebuilding started to creep up closer and closer to their place. Paine was uneasy. Both of them were heretics and she was nowhere naïve enough to believe that the calm made people forgive them for that. When Brother and Buddy turned up on their doorstep and offered a way for them to get out before trouble showed up, they both signed up and the core of the gullwings was formed.  
  
Shinra was ages ahead of the other sphere hunters. He had found a use for the spheres that no one else could have guessed. But finding a sphere to test his theories on seemed impossible. Paine watched him mutter a few choice words kids probably shouldn't know in frustration as yet another treasure sphere failed to pass the test. She pulled the softly glowing purple sphere out of her knapsack and was in his machina-filled alcove before she could have second thoughts. Paine tapped her fingers on the glass orb until Shinra noticed her standing over his shoulder. She dropped the sphere into his lap and said, "Use it," before wandering off to deal with the strange flutters of loss it brought up. Later that night she heard a yell coming from his lab. The first dress sphere had been created and Paine's life was about to be shaken up again.  
  
An arm settled around her shoulders drawing her out of her memories. The air around them was filled with the warm smell of incense. Paine relaxed, leaning back on his chest as he wound his fingers around hers. It was funny that after all these years Baralai's touch still felt like fire and ice. Gently he pulled her silver gray hair out of her face and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "What were you thinking about?" he asked. "Nothing," she said turning around and silencing anything else he wanted to say with a nice long kiss. Far too soon the moment was broken by a timid knock on the door and two cries of "Ew gross!" coming from the door behind them. Baralai broke the kiss first and turned around to face their son and the twins. Paine gave their oldest a reproachful look and he did his best to shoo his sisters out of the room. "Aunty Rikku is here in the airship and she says if you don't get your rears out there, she is going to start deducting respect points." Paine just shook her head. Some people never changed. "Come on Shin let's go round up your sisters," Baralai said ruffling his son's wild mop of hair. Paine brushed her hand across the old leather one more time, put the dress back in the sphere and slipped the garment grid into her pocket and walked out to join her husband and kids. 


End file.
